Praetori Imperium
The Praetori Imperium is the oldest surviving nation in Aea. Ruled by the mage-lords, known as the praetori, the Imperium is built upon a strong magocracy. Chief among the praetori is the Imperial Hierarch. Non-mage citizens in the Imperium are treated as lesser citizens, with less civil rights compared to their mage counterparts. The Imperium holds its cultural heritage in the Maelduvian peoples of the Duvian Plains in eastern Hesperis. The Maelduvians believe themselves to be the spiritual descendents of the ancient Eldari race, which disappeared from Aea several thousand years ago. This influence is most manifested by the continuance of the worship of the ancient Eldari gods, the Magnari, instead of the Luminarian Faith, during the majority of the Imperium's history. Culture Praetori citizenry is broken down into three social classes, of descending political power and rights. The lowest class is the Mundae, or non-mage citizens. Members of this class hold only the most basic rights in the Imperium, able to own property and serve in the Imperium's military and city guard. Beyond that, they have litte to no representation in the Praetori government, a source of contention within the Imperium. In many cases, Mundae are forced into positions of indentured servitude to praetori lords, as they must pay off debts and property violations. For the most part, Mundae make their living farming to support the Praetori cities or acting as merchants/traders of Praetori goods. The next step up of the social strata in the Imperium is the Magi class, made up of any citizens who have some magical ability, and their families. A Mundae family can be risen up into the Magi class if a child is born with magical ability, though this has become increasingly rare in the Imperium's modern history. Magi citizens are afforded the additional rights to join the religious community of the Order of Magnuus--the dominant religion of the Imperium--as well as become appointed members of the Imperium's legislative body--the Grand Council of the Imperium. '''Within the Praetori military, commanders are usually of the Magi class, leading units of Mundae and mage-soldiers alike. Many Magi find success in become master craftsmen, in areas as diverse as architecture, smithing, masonry, clothing, and art--utilizing their magical abilities to shape their crafts with increased quality and fashion. It is common for a Magi craftsman to utiize several Mundae merchants to sell their goods across Aea. The highest social class in the Imperium is the '''Praetori, the noble families of the Imperium. These families hold the strongest magical bloodlines, often intermarrying between families to maintain the quality of their blood. The Praetori hold vast amounts of the Praetori lands and are the primary members of the Grand Council. Praetori also are elected into positions of judicial authority, usually by the other praetori living in the region. Nearly all of the Hierarchs have been from this class. Most members of the Praetori class are of ancient Maelduvian decent, compared to members of the Magi class which hold varied heritages. Slavery is still a part of Praetori society, with those who either enter into servitude to settle debts or to better provide for their families. Slaves are granted a limited amount of rights, though are basically subject to their master's will. These rights are primarily limited to housing and food--with the master expected to provide the two for their servants. A slave may be freed by two options. The first is to be freed upon the wishes of their master, as recognized by the local magistrate. This can be done either within the lifetime of the master, or in the case of the master's death, in their will. Should a master not free a slave upon their death, ownership transfers to the oldest living heir of the master. The second method of liberation is to petition the local magistrate, based upon a violation of their rights as a slave. An investigation commences to check the validity of the slave's claim, though ultimately it is up to the magistrate. This makes this method incredibly rare, especially as the majority of slaveowners are members of the Praetori class. Freed slaves are known as Liberati, and must go through a period of ten years of apprenticeship with a Mundae in order to move up into the Mundae class. Religion The Imperium has followed two primary religions in its history: the Magnari Pantheon and the Luminarian Faith. Originally, the Imperium, following the ancient Maelduvians which founded it, worshipped the Eldari Magnari--paragons of the major facets of civilization. The Magnari--whose role in Eldari civilization is still debated--were beings of immense power, guiding their followers in civilization. The Imperium worshipped five of these Magnari as gods: Telmarius, the Magnar of Magic; Cephatus, the Magnar of Artisanry; Decarus, the Magnar of War; Illumia, the Magnar of Art; and Yuella, the Magnar of Agriculture. Telmarius was believed to be the chief of the Magnari, the father of the arcane and architect of the Aetherium. After viewing the Aetherium as an imperfect creation, Telmarius created Mortalis, the mortal realm, then forming the other Magnari to help him shape his new world. Together, the Magnari constructed Aea and the ancient Eldari, the first race. Unfortunately, due to unknown circumstances, Eldari civilization fell to ruin, causing the Magnari to create a new race to inhabit Aea. Thus humanity was born. From there, the Magnari guided early man in builiding their societies, the chief of which was the Maelduvians, who Telmarius favored as the successors to the Eldari. With the founding of the Imperium, the worship of the Magnari was made official, leading to the construction of the Grand Temple '''in Numenex. The Imperium continued to worship the Magnari until 2:33 Crusades, when Luminarians, under the Holy Praiyan Empire, led a holy war against the Praetori. The subseqent '''War of Lumination ended when the Hierarch, Mechatus, formally converted to the Luminarian Faith, with the signing of the Pact of Illumination. The Grand Temple was converted into the central Luminary for the Imperium. Magnari worship was continued by many of the praetori-lords in secret, though in modern times it is increasingly rare. In 4:99 Blessed, the Imperium split from the central Luminary in Royaume, declaring that the faith had become corrupted and unjustly suppressed mages. Hierarch Uthmach issued the Writ of Reformation, creating the Praetori Luminary, with the former Praetori Archbishop rising as the new Praetori Grand Bishop. The Praetori Luminary preaches that those with magical ability are actually the blessed chosen of the Creator, gifted with a connection of the Aetherium and the power to bend the laws of Mortalis to their will. The Praetori Luminary also teaches that it was the Daemoni that caused the downfall of the Eldari, not any sort of divine punishment by the Creator. This split reignited hositlities between Praiya and the Imperium, with the former leading several Holy Crusades to reunite the Imperium with the Praiyan Luminary. Most recently, Vahidia joined the Praetori Luminary, citing the oppression of mages as the chief justification. History Early Settlements The lands that eventually became the Imperium were originally inhabitated by the Maelduvian people. Overtime, the Maelduvians established settlements around the Duvian Plain, which became small city-states by -1000 BE. The most powerful of these cities were Numenex, Ashara, and Tyr. Following the War of the Duvian Plains, the three cities finally were united under Numenexi rule, forming the Duvian Kingdom in -760 BE. Duvian Kingdom The Duvian Kingdom controlled the region for the next several centuries. During this time, the power of the Maelduvian mages grew immensely, until they rivaled the might of the Duvian royalty by -100 BE. After the discovery of several ancient Eldari ruins, the most powerful mages, known as the praetori, directly began challenging the rule of the king. This culminated in the Praetori Coup in -10 BE, resulting in the overthrow of the king and the rise of the Hierarch, Elemarius, who declared the founding of the Praetori Imperium in 0 AE, instituting a rigid magocracy. Spread of the Imperium The first area of imperial expansion came early in the Imperium's history. By the end of his reign, Elemarius managed to annex the entirety of eastern Hesperis and began his conquest of eastern Hesperis. His successor, Elemachus, warred agains the Vahidians until they submitted to Praetori rule in 40 AE. The next few centuries of Imperium history saw the consoldiation of power under the praetori and the development of much of the Imperium's societal structurea and politics. The worship of the Eldari Magnari became the official state religion, with the Grand Temple of the Divines constructed in Numenex in 110 AE. Bolstering their power was the discovery of the ancient Eldari Titans, which were moved to the imperial capital to serve as the city's guardians. After nearly 500 years of rule, the Imperium finally began to seek colonization of the rest of Aea. By 700 AE, the Imperium had spread as far north as the Great Chain Mountains, though the Greenwood would remain under the control of the Elvari for the next few centuries. Fall of the Elvari In 863 AE, Hierarch Vardys decided that the Elvari were no longer the chosen successors to the Eldari. He openly declared war against the Elvari. Though they fought valiantly, the Elvari were no match against the sheer power of the Imperium. After a century of war, the Elvari feel to the Imperium in 965 AE, with the Sack of Elva-dar cementing their collapse. Some Elvari managed to flee to the northern Elderwood, though the bulk were taken in as slaves under praetori lords. War of the Mountains In the pursuit of the fleeing Elvari, Hierarch Nuuriam attempted to cross the Great Chain, though came into contact with the dwarves of Kazak-thuum, who refused to allow the Praetori to cross their lands. Discovery of the massive resources the dwarves commanded in their underground kingdom, Nuuriam decided to abandon his pursuit of the Elvari in exchange for conquering the mountain-kingdom. The coming War of the Mountains pitted the Imperium against the mighty dwarves, who proved the greatest challenge to praetori power in the Imperium's history thus far. The dwarves' natural resistance to magic and knowledge of the deep tunnels and caverns of the Great Chain led to the Imperium's difficulty. Eventually, the praetori were forced to sign an armastice with the dwarven king, Thuurkar, in the Treaty of Kazak-thuum in 1098 AE. The dwarves were left as a sovereign nation, with trade developing between the two nations. Danarion's Rebellion and the First Daemoni Horde Praetori rule was left unchallenged until 1334 AE, when the religious prophet, Danarion, began preaching the worship of the Creator, after his Night's of Revelation. Based out the city of Trium, on the shores of Lake Triad, Danarion quickly amassed a large following, pulling primarily from the non-mage population who resented their subjegation by the mages. Hierarch Cenarion declared the rebels as heretics, sentencing any who supported them as traitors to the Imperium. What should have been a quick suppression of rebels was worsened with the emergence of the Daemoni in 1359 AE. The Daemoni threatened all of known civilzation, devasting the eastern provinces in Oriens. Putting their differences aside, the Aeans attempted to hold back the destruction of the Daemoni. However, this proved fruitless, as the Daemoni overran the armies of the Imperium. The dwarves pulled all of their forces back to the defense of the mountains, abandoning the Imperium to the Daemoni. All seemed lost until the founding of the Order of the Justicars in 1487 AE, based out of Athek. The Justicars, through secret methods, were able to finally push the Daemoni back, with their greatest victory in the Battle of the Plains of Praiya in 1501 AE. The Imperium was left weakened and the Western Grasslands reduced to a wasteland, now known as the Westari Desert. Danarion and his followers continued to challenge imperial rule until Hierarch Icharius used his Imperators to raze Trium to the ground. Danarion was captured and was publically executed in Numenex, personally slain by the Hierarch in 1520 AE, bringing the rebellion to a bloody end. Vahidian Revolution In 1630 AE, the mages of Vahidia openly revolted agains the Imperium, wishing to institute a more democratic form of government, instead of the strict hierarchy imposed under the Imperium's government. Unlike previous rebellions, the Vahidians were well-versed in the Imperium's military tactics and magical prowess. With the support of mages and non-mages alike in the region, the Vahidians were successfully able to win their independence, founding the Vahidian Dominion with the Declaration of Independence in 1655 AE. Fall of the Imperium With the lost of Vahidia, the Imperium quickly descended into a death spiral, with the other provinces using Vahidia as proof that the Imperium was no longer able to maintain its power. Two more brief attacks by the Daemoni in 1745 and 1830 AE were all that was required to prompt a widespread series of rebellions agains praetori rule. In 1852 AE, the regions of Oriens were able to full secede from the Imperium, followed shortly by the Crescent Isles and the island of Jadaris. By 1901 AE, the Imperium had been reduced to its earliest holdings and was no longer the supreme power of Aea. Conversion to the Luminarian Faith In 2402 AE, the Holy Praiyan Empire began their Wars of Faith against those who did not yet accept the Luminarian Faith. Against the combined might of most of Aea, the Imperium was seiged by Luminarians. By 2413 AE, Hierarch Bardican signed the Treaty of Illumination, formally coverting the Imperium to the Luminarian Faith. Politics Government The Imperium's government is primarily comprised of two major institutions: the Imperial Senate and the Imperial Hierarch. 'Imperial Senate' The Imperial Senate is the chief legislative body of the Imperium. Comprised of the praetori lords, or at least representatives acting on behalf of a praetor, elected representatives, known as the senatori, from the cities of the Imperium--who are elected by members of the Magi class of each city--and the Council of Archons. The Hierarch may also appoint members to the Senate at any time, though this honor usually reserved for the champion of the Colosseum '''and the '''Commander of the Imperatori Guard, who acts as the Hierarch's personal representative. The Senate is allowed to charter up laws for the Imperium, sending them to the Hierarch for final approval. Should the Hierarch reject a proposal, the Senate may attempt to override the veto through unanimous support of the proposal. This is incredibly rare, as disagreements among the senators prevents such a high level of unity. The other responsibility of the Senate is to elect a new Hierarch, should the current Hierarch fail to name a successor prior to their death. To be appointed, a candidate much achieve the support of majority of the Archons and at least a 3/4 majority of the remainder of the Senate. This rule was implemented following the Imperial Civil War of 1350 AE. Instances of a Hierarchical election usually results in a massive amount of power playing by the senators, who already compete for greater political power in the Senate. 'Imperial Hierarch' The Imperial Hierarch is the chief executive power of the Imperium. The Hierarch is vested with immense control over the Imperium, with direct control over taxation and the military. Though it is technically the Senate that writes the laws, the Hierarch is known to be the true power of the Praetori government. A large part of this comes from the Hierarchs' use of the Imperatori Guard, the personal security force of the Hierarchy. The Imperatori are elite mage-warriors, skilled in the arts of battle, assassination, and torture. Essentially, they are the enforcers of the Hierarch's will. Historically, they have been used to suppress dissent, both in the citizenry and among the praetori. It grants the Hierarch immense control over Praetori society. The Hierarch is typically a hereditary position, with the Hierarch formally naming one of their children as their successor. There have been cases where the Hierarch named someone outside of their family to succeed them, usually either when they had no children or did not believe any of their children to be worthy of the position. If the Hierarch does not select an heir, the Senate elects the new Hierarch. Geography Regions *Duvian Peninsula *Dracari Mountains *Wyrmwood *Southreach *Summer Fields Major Cities *Ashara *Bael *Caedius *Duvos *Landsmeet *Numenex - Capital *Paralaen *Port Mendictus Category:Nations Category:Locations